Questions tagged [semigroups-and-monoids]
A semigroup is a set $S$ together with a binary operation that is associative. Examples of semigroups are the set of finite strings over a fixed alphabet (under concatenation) and the positive integers (under addition, maximum, or minimum). A monoid is a semigroup with a neutral element. Of course, any group is also a monoid/semigroup.
31 questions from the last 365 days
8
votes
1
answer
437
views
Function $\phi$ such that $f(\phi(x,y)) = f(x) + f(y)$
I have a continuous function $f:\mathbb{R}^n\to\mathbb{R}$, and I am looking for a continuous (or at least measurable) function $\phi:\mathbb{R}^{2n}\to\mathbb{R}^n$ such that $f(\phi(x,y))=f(x)+f(y)$....
- 3,065
11
votes
0
answers
427
views
Is there a theory of completions of semirings similar to $I$-adic completions of rings?
Let $L = \text{Con } (\mathbb{N}, 0, +) \setminus \Delta$ be the lattice of monoid congruences on the naturals, excluding the trivial congruence. As it happens, every $\theta \in L$ is the meet of ...
- 591
2
votes
0
answers
92
views
Geometric interpretation of flags and the role of the rook monoid and Kazhdan–Lusztig theory in $M_n(\mathbb{C})$
Let $G = GL_n(\mathbb{C})$, $B$ be its Borel subgroup, and $P$ a parabolic subgroup. The space $G/B$ corresponds to complete flags in $ \mathbb{C}^n$, and $G/P$ corresponds to partial flags. The ...
- 141
0
votes
0
answers
61
views
Defining rank of an abelian subgroup using the second centralizer
I recently posted this on MSE, but didn't receive any feedback; so I'm posting it on MO.
I recently came across this article which explored the maximal abelian subgroups of the symmetric group $S_n$. ...
- 195
4
votes
1
answer
239
views
True or false? Every left or right cancellative, duo semigroup is cancellative
A semigroup $S$ is duo if $aS = Sa$ for all $a \in S$, where $aS := \{ax: x \in S\}$ and similarly for $Sa$; for instance, every commutative semigroup is duo, and so is every group. On the other hand, ...
- 10.5k
8
votes
1
answer
321
views
Does every cancellative duo semigroup embed into a group?
Prompted by the comments to a recent answer by YCor to a related question (here), I'd like to ask the following:
Q. Does every cancellative duo semigroup embed into a group?
A (multiplicatively ...
- 10.5k
6
votes
3
answers
551
views
Conjecture about commutative semigroups
Conjecture: given any commutative semigroup $S$ of order $n \ge 4$, there exist $a, b \in S$ with $a \ne b$, an integer $m \ge \lfloor (n-1)/2 \rfloor$, and two $m$-element subsets $X = \{x_1, \ldots, ...
- 1,000
8
votes
2
answers
596
views
If a semigroup embeds into a group, then is it a subdirect product of groups?
The title has it all:
Q. If a semigroup $S$ embeds into a group, then is $S$ (isomorphic to) a subdirect product of groups?
If yes, then $S$ is a subdirect product of subdirectly irreducible groups,...
- 10.5k
7
votes
2
answers
488
views
Is every cancellative semigroup a subdirect product of subdirectly irreducible cancellative semigroups?
By a classical result of Birkhoff (that is, Theorem 2 in [G. Birkhoff, Subdirect unions in universal algebra, Bull. AMS, 1944]) and the trivial fact that the class of semigroups is closed under the ...
- 10.5k
3
votes
0
answers
250
views
Action (of a graded monoid) required
Reference request: Did the construction below appear anywhere before? Any mentions of it or especially any links to something commonly known would be really helpful. I feel that it might be related to ...
- 321
3
votes
0
answers
89
views
Ordering the elements of a semigroup by $a \le b$ iff $a=b$ or $b=ab=ba$
Let $S$ be a semigroup, written multiplicatively. The binary relation $\le$ on (the underlying set of) $S$, whose graph consists of all pairs $(a,b) \in S \times S$ such that $a = b$ or $b = ab = ba$, ...
- 10.5k
0
votes
0
answers
114
views
Clarifications sought on the paper on the semigroup associated with a free polynomial by Ali Abbas and Abdallah Assi
I have three questions regarding the proof of Proposition 4 on page 4 of this paper here. For those interested in addressing these questions, please refer to some definitions in the first two or three ...
3
votes
0
answers
161
views
On generators of the multiplicative semigroup $\{r\in\mathbb Q:\ r>1\}$
The set $M=\{r\in\mathbb Q:\ r>1\}$ is a commutative semigroup with respect to the multiplication. For any integers $a>b\ge1$, we clearly have
$$\frac ab=\prod_{n=b}^{a-1}\frac{n+1}n.$$
So the ...
- 15.6k
3
votes
0
answers
92
views
Reference for the monoidal category structure $X \otimes Y = X + Y + X \times Y$ on a distributive category
Given a distributive category $\mathscr C$ (more generally a rig category), we can define a (semicocartesian) monoidal category structure on $\mathscr C$ with tensor product given by $X \otimes Y := X ...
- 10.6k
4
votes
0
answers
147
views
Isomorphism between the reduced C*-algebra of a groupoid and the crossed product of inverse semigroups
In Paterson's book "Groupoids, Inverse Semigroups and their Operator Algebras" he proves that for any r-discrete groupoid $G$ with unit space $G^0$, its full $C^* $-algebra $C^* (G)$ is ...
- 261
5
votes
0
answers
191
views
Do most semigroups have a zero?
It is widely believed in finite semigroup theory that asymptotically almost all finite semigroups $S$, up to isomorphism, are 3-nilpotent, i.e., they satisfy $\#\{abc\,:\,a,b,c\in S\} = 1$. My ...
- 151
1
vote
1
answer
215
views
Reference about cancellation property for semigroups
Have the semigroups with the following cancellation property been studied?
Property: Let $S$ be a semigroup and $x,y\in S$ such that $xz=yz,$ for all $z\in S,$ then $x=y$.
- 313
2
votes
1
answer
57
views
Are simplicial commutative inverse semigroups fibrant?
Let $X$ be a simplicial object in the category of commutative inverse semigroups (or monoids, if needed). Is the underlying simplicial set of $X$ always a Kan complex? If so, are there some nice ...
- 742
4
votes
0
answers
174
views
Centers and conjugacy classes of groups relative to a pair of group homomorphisms
$\newcommand{\defeq}{\mathbin{\overset{\mathrm{def}}{=}}}$Given a group $G$, its center $\mathrm{Z}(G)$ and set of conjugacy classes $\mathrm{Cl}(G)$ are defined by
\begin{align*}
\mathrm{Z}(G) &\...
- 11.8k
6
votes
0
answers
151
views
On dual notions of morphisms of algebraic structures obtained by replacing equaliser with coequalisers
This question is based on this discussion from the Category Theory Zulip. See also the earlier question Natural cotransformations and "dual" co/limits.
Let $G$ and $H$ be groups. We define ...
- 11.8k
2
votes
1
answer
423
views
Conjecture about semigroups
Let $G$ be a finite semigroup with order $n$ odd. Let $S_i \in G, i=1,\ldots,\binom{n}{(n+1)/2}$ be all the subsets of $G$ of size $(n+1)/2$.
Let $E(S_i)$ be the set obtained "expanding" $...
- 1,000
0
votes
0
answers
95
views
Which algebraic structure characterizes the set of non-trivial qudratic residues in a finite field?
I understand this question may be too naive to ask, but I am unable to figure it out.
Suppose, $\mathbb{QR^*}$ denotes the set of all quadratic residues in a finite field except the identity element $...
5
votes
0
answers
187
views
Isbell duality for monoids and groups
Isbell Duality
$\newcommand{\IsbellSpec}{\mathsf{Spec}}\newcommand{\IsbellO}{\mathsf{O}}\newcommand{\Sets}{\mathsf{Sets}}\newcommand{\rmL}{\mathrm{L}}\newcommand{\rmR}{\mathrm{R}}\newcommand{\B}{\...
- 11.8k
8
votes
1
answer
236
views
Quiver and relations for a monoid related to Catalan numbers
Let $C_n$ be the monoid consisting of monotone maps $\{1,...,n\} \rightarrow \{1,...,n\}$ with $f(i) \leq i$ for all $i$.
The cardinality of $C_n$ is given by the Catalan numbers.
Consider $A_n= \...
- 26.5k
5
votes
0
answers
107
views
Structure of well-ordered commutative monoids
Let $(M,+)$ be a commutative monoid. Let $<$ be a well-ordering on $M$, where
$\forall a\in M,\ 0\leq a$
$\forall a,b,c\in M,\ a<b\Rightarrow a+c<b+c$
The first condition means $M$ will be ...
- 18.7k
2
votes
0
answers
80
views
An alternative definition for finitely generated (and principal) ideals in a semigroup
Let $S$ be a semigroup. An ideal (of $S$) is a subset $I$ of $S$ such that $SI$ and $IS$ are both contained in $I$. The non-empty ideals constitute a subsemigroup, $\mathfrak I(S)$, of the power ...
- 10.5k
6
votes
0
answers
632
views
Generating functions in countable commutative monoids
Let $f: \mathbb{N}_0 \rightarrow \mathbb{C}$ be a function. The power series of $f$ can be viewed as the function $\mathscr{P}_f : q \mapsto \sum_{n \in \mathbb{N}_0}^{} f(n)q^n$ where $q \in \mathbb{...
- 405
2
votes
0
answers
91
views
A recursive description of the smallest divisor-closed subsemigroup containing a set
Let $S$ be a semigroup and $\widehat{S}$ be its unitization, i.e., the monoid obtained from $S$ by adjoining an identity element if necessary (so that $\widehat{S} = S$ when $S$ is already a monoid).
...
- 10.5k
3
votes
1
answer
171
views
Every homomorphism between (rational) Puiseux monoids is multiplication by a non-negative rational
Let a (rational) Puiseux monoid be a non-trivial submonoid of the non-negative rational numbers under (the usual operation of) addition. It is not difficult to show that, if $f \colon H \to K$ is a (...
- 10.5k
6
votes
1
answer
173
views
References on semigroup actions
I posted this question on Math Stack Exchange about 10 days ago, but received no answer (https://math.stackexchange.com/q/4843881/1223994).
I would like to ask for references on semigroup actions on ...
- 339
3
votes
0
answers
74
views
Are the automorphisms of the power semigroup of a cancellative semigroup cardinality-preserving?
Let $S$ be a semigroup (written multiplicatively) and $f$ be an automorphism of the power semigroup $\mathcal P(S)$ of $S$, that is, a bijective function on the family of all non-empty subsets of $S$ ...
- 10.5k